title: Household behaviour in response to earthquake risk: an assessment of alternative theories.
abstract: Households response to earthquake risk in different ways. The main theories explaining human behaviour under threat of earthquakes are reviewed. A survey of households' responses in Tehran and Rasht in Iran to earthquake risks is used to assess the validity of psychological, 'need', socio-cultural and economic theories in explaining behaviour. More support of cognitive and cultural theories is found rather than economic and 'need' theories of earthquake safety measures; this suggests that positive adoption of mitigation measures can be encouraged in terms of cognitive processes through information and education.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography and Remote Sensing, University of Tarbiat Modares, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Asgary
authors.forename: K G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Willis
mesh_terms: D004189:Disaster Planning; D004190:Disasters; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D016015:Logistic Models; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011582:Psychological Theory; D018570:Risk Assessment